The Bible encourages Christians to look for and respect godly examples. Hebrews 11 includes a list of faithful saints whom believers should imitate (Hebrews 6:12). Paul articulates the appropriateness of imitating godly people (1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-7; ). He even commands believers to imitate him (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1). It is certainly… Continue Reading
I’ve posted several times about a three message series that Mark Minnick recently preached on biblical discernment, but after just listening to the third message again, I cannot urge you to listen to these enough. In the final message, Pastor Minnick specifically applies biblical principles to the issue of musical choices in worship, and takes… Continue Reading
There has been a lot of talk in recent years on the internet and at conferences about why young people are rejecting fundamentalism and/or a conservative philosophy of worship. Everyone likes to play the blame game, but the issue that seems to get most often cited is music. Young people are being attracted to the… Continue Reading
As I consider the landscape of fundamentalism today,1 some characteristics of its worship encourage me, while others concern me. The primary influences on modern fundamentalist worship reveal the reasons for this mixed assessment. Three Influences Shaping Worship Today In my estimation, three sources have influenced modern fundamentalist worship most: 1.John Piper 2.Wayne Grudem 3.Sovereign Grace… Continue Reading
Externalism is a sneaky error in which we insist that the outward appearance reveals the heart. Or, another way of saying it is that inward, heart realities will show themselves outwardly. Conservatives are often charged with externalism by progressives. The progressives claim (sometimes rightly) that conservatives place too much emphasis on outward appearance, forms, rituals, duties, and traditions… Continue Reading
“The new Calvinists constantly extol the Puritans, but they do not want to worship or live as they did. One of the vaunted new conferences is called Resolved, after Jonathan Edwards’ famous youthful Resolutions (seventy searching undertakings). But the culture of this conference would unquestionably have met with the outright condemnation of that great theologian.”… Continue Reading
Today, the influences of Modernism, Revivalism, and Charismaticism in the Church’s understanding of the purpose and function of music in worship cannot be overestimated. First, because of Modernism, most Christian fail to understand the nature of emotion in human spirituality and worship. Most Christians see no fundamental distinction between a response of the affections and… Continue Reading